Prep girls basketball: Belpre routs Trimble, 66-46

February 1, 2013

BELPRE - A 9-0 run in the last minute of the first half got Belpre back on track and gave it momentum going into the second half en route to a 66-46 Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division girls basketball game Thursday night over Trimble.

The win improved the Golden Eagles' records to 13-6 overall and 8-6 in the TVC Hocking, while the Tomcats slipped to 6-14, including 6-8 in TVC Hocking contests.

After a close, back-and-forth first quarter that ended with Belpre on top 18-15 on a Sierra Barker trey and Hannah Lawrentz's three-point play in the final minute, the Golden Eagles started the second stanza strong. Barker's short baseline jumper followed by Emily Hughes' 3-ball from the left wing and two free throws propelled Belpre into a 10-point lead, 25-15, after just 2:03 of play.

Article Photos

JEFF BAUGHAN Special to The TimesBelpre’s Emily Hughes drives to the basket against Trimble’s Demi Moore, center, and Tia Altier, left, Thursday. Hughes was fouled on the play as Belpre defeated Trimble, 66-46.

But Trimble rallied behind Demi Moore and Nicole Kish, who tallied all the Tomcats' points in a 9-2 run, to close the gap to only three, 27-24, with 1:14 left in the first half.

At that point, Belpre head coach Scott Miller called a timeout and set up his team in full-court pressure, which resulted in nine straight points to end the half. Two Audrea Linton foul shots at 1:01, Lexus Cunningham's inbounds steal and feed to Linton for a layup at 57.5 seconds, a Barker trey at 26.8 seconds and finally a Katelyn Hughes hoop at 14. 8 seconds let Belpre push out a 36-24 advantage by intermission.

''That gave us the spark that we needed,'' said Miller, and his team kicked off the second half with a 6-0 spurt to shoot out to a 42-24 spread. However, Trimble cut into the Golden Eagles' lead over a 2 1/2-minute span, outscoring Belpre 10-2 to claw back within 10 at 44-34 before Belpre finished another quarter strong on a 10-1 tear. Katelyn Hughes had a pair of traditional three-point plays in the run up to the third-period buzzer to give the hosts an 18-point bulge, 54-36. And the margin for Belpre reached as much as 23 at 62-39 with 3:15 to go in the final period, as Barker paced the Golden Eagle point-producers with 18, followed by Katelyn Hughes with 16, Emily Hughes with 11 and Linton with 10.

In double-figure points for Trimble were Kish with 16, Moore with 12 and Tia Altier with 11.

Belpre is down to its last three regular-season games next week, starting at Wahama at 6:30 p.m. Monday. On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles will hold Senior Night versus Meigs with a 6 p.m. JV half of basketball followed by the varsity tilt before playing at Waterford at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.